Chimp adopted by Masiff

A motherly Mastiff has adopted a baby chimp and lets it sleep in the dog bed with her and her own puppies.

A zookeeper kept the chimp home after its natural mother rejected it and, according to reports, it was adopted by the Mastiff as one of her own within hours.

One observer said: "They look completely relaxed with each other. It won't be long before the chimp is taking her mum for walkies."

Images released also show that the chimp lines up alongside its puppy siblings while they are eating dog food to enjoy its own dinner.

According to experts, dogs are normally frightened of primates because of their unpredictable behaviour.

Despite this, there are a number of cases of friendships between dogs and primates. In 2009 footage emerged of an organ-utan named Suryia and a stray dog called Roscoe. They became best friends after meeting at a South Carolina sanctuary.

The duo became so close that they started swimming together, playing together and Suryia would take Roscoe on a walk on its dog collar and lead.